Thursday, December 10, 2015

Book Review: Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray

Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray

Series: Firebird (book #2)
Will need to read the first book prior to this one
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: 3rd November 2015
Read Date: 5th December 2015
Tagged Under: 2015 read, 2015 favourites, 4, fantasy, romance, YA-fiction, book review

Book Summary

Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents' invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse - even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions. 
Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul's soul. The hunt sends her racing across a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared.

Book Review

I read A Thousand Pieces of You, the first book of the Firebird trilogy, back in September and really enjoyed the imaginative setting and plot. I simply couldn't wait for its sequel and grabbed Ten Thousand Skies Above Me as soon as it came out.

Last warning: please read the first book before continuing on with this review. Although it's spoiler free for this book, it will contain details regarding the first book, possibly spoiling it for you.

After the adventures Marguerite, Theo and Paul took in the previous book, things are finally starting to settle down. Marguerite has her family together once more, they are going to present a united front against the Triad and best of all, Marguerite is finally with Paul. Everything is going well. That is, until Theo suddenly becomes sick, Paul goes missing and Marguerite is forced to make a bargain with the very devil himself to save the two most important boys in her life.

This book picks up shortly where A Thousand Pieces of You left off. The element that I enjoy the most of this book is its plot. It is fun, engaging and has a lot of twists and turns. It takes the main characters (and by extension, the reader) through many different universes and get to experience the multiple "what ifs" when just one small element is altered. Just when you think Claudia Gray has revealed all there is to know about the multiverse, she does something completely wicked and turns the entire game on its head. Without revealing anything, let's just say brace yourself for a bumpy ride to the finish and I cannot wait for the third and final book!

However, as much as the plot is a joy to read, the writing itself remains a bit inconsistent at times. There is one particular scene in the beginning which just sticks up as so out-of-character and ridiculous that I still remember it now as being highly awkward. Also, while some of the reflections at the beginning of the novel is neat and summarizes the events of the first book, reflections continued to pop up throughout the rest of the book as introspection which not only feels unnecessary, it also makes Marguerite come across as too focused on herself and how all these events affects her and her relationships with those around her rather than the big picture.

Nevertheless, the conclusion is well worth the ride as Gray brings out some pretty big guns and it redeems the rest of the book enough for me to go from "meh, it was okay" to "oh my goodness, I need the next book stat!"

Conclusion

Overall, I came away from Ten Thousand Skies Above You with more positive thoughts than I thought I would. There are some elements of the writing and the main character, Marguerite, that I didn't like but all in all, I really enjoyed this novel and would highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a good YA fantasy or science fiction series!

2 comments:

  1. OOh nice! I still need to read this one! I LOVED ATPOY so I definitely can't wait to read this one either! Glad you enjoyed it! Great review!

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  2. i have read the first book, still waiting my turn for this one

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